Guard Randy Foye, the Wolves’ No. 1 draft choice, has been stirring talk since last summer that he will win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award (voted on by media). It’s a nice thought but neither Foye nor assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg is focusing on it.
Foye admirers thought he was the best rookie among the players in the NBA’s Las Vegas summer league. He won MVP honors averaging 24.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
In the pre-season his numbers have been different. He averaged 7.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and less than 1 assist per game.
Both Foye and Hoiberg talked about how much more Foye had the ball in summer games and how the games revolved around him. Going back to college and high school, Foye has been a focal player on his teams. “I’ve always been the guy who makes the big decisions on the floor,” Foye said.
“In the summer all the plays ran through him,” Hoiberg said. “Now that he’s in the regular season, it’s not going to happen his rookie year. The team will play through Kevin Garnett, Mike James and Ricky Davis. I think it’s been a little tough on him. Probably for the first time in his life he’s not a featured player, but he’s handled it great. He’s always asking for advice. …He’s going to be a special player in this league because of his willingness to learn.”
Foye said winning the Rookie of the Year award would “mean a lot” to him but team success has more appeal. Given a choice, he would rather the Wolves be in the playoffs than be Rookie of the Year.
Variables such as playing time will determine performance and numbers for rookies who will be in the mix for the award. An outstanding rookie on a bad team is likely to play more minutes and build his stats. “We’re trying to get back into the playoffs,” Hoiberg said. “He (Foye) will be a big part of that. Let the awards take care of themselves. He will play a major role on our team.”
Foye expects to be used both at point guard and shooting guard. The coaches, he said, like his ability to “explode” to the hoop from the point guard position and his size (about 6-3, 207) as a big defender.
While comparisons have been made between Foye and Miami star Dwayne Wade, Foye compares himself to former Timberwolf and Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups. Like Billups, Foye said he is a leader who gets teammates involved, makes heady decisions and takes big shots.
Who does he like among the Rookie of the Year candidates? Boston’s Rajon Rondo, Memphis’ Rudy Gay and Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas. Oh, and a guy in Minneapolis named Randy Foye.